Image printing using specialty ink

ABSTRACT

An image is printed with an inkjet-printing device using specialty ink ( 300 ). The device can use standard cyan ink, standard magenta ink, standard yellow ink, and standard black ink to print full-color images on media. However, the specialty ink is a type of ink other than the types of the standard cyan ink, the standard magenta ink, the standard yellow ink, and the standard black ink. A replacement color ordinarily printed using the standard cyan ink, the standard magenta ink, the standard yellow ink, and/or the standard black ink is determined ( 306 ). An image having one or more pixels having the replacement color is printed on the media ( 316 ). The pixels that have the replacement color are printed using the specialty ink instead of using the standard cyan ink, the standard magenta ink, the standard yellow ink, and/or the standard black ink.

BACKGROUND

Inkjet-printing devices, such as inkjet printers and multi-functiondevices (MFD) and all-in-one (AIO) devices that have inkjet-printingcapabilities, print images on media such as paper by ejecting ink ontothe media. Inkjet-printing devices include both thermal-inkjet printingdevices and piezoelectric printing devices. To print full-color imageson media, inkjet-printing devices usually include cyan, magenta, andyellow ink, in addition to or in lieu of black ink.

In addition to these standard cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks,specialty inks have been developed that can be employed ininkjet-printing devices. Such specialty inks can include metallic ink,glossy ink, and embossing ink. However, inkjet-printing devices may haveto be purposefully designed to use these specialty inks. Existingapplication programs, such as photo-editing programs, publishingprograms, and so on, typically have to be specially designed to takeadvantage of these specialty inks as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagrams of inkjet-printing devices that arereceptive to specialty ink cartridges containing specialty ink,according to different embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a system in which an inkjet-printing deviceprints an image using specialty ink, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method to print an image with aninkjet-printing device using specialty ink, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are diagrams of graphical user interfacewindows that can be employed in the method of FIG. 3, according todifferent embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an inkjet-printing device 100, according todifferent embodiments of the present disclosure. The inkjet-printingdevice 100 can be a standalone inkjet printer, having justinkjet-printing functionality. The inkjet-printing device 100 can alsobe a multi-function device (MFD) or an all-in-one (AIO) device, whichhas other functionality in addition to inkjet-printing functionality.For example, an MFD or an AIO device may have copying, scanning, and/orfaxing functionality, in addition to inkjet-printing functionality.Inkjet-printing functionality is generally defined as being able toprint image data, such as graphics and/or text, received from a hostcomputing device like a desktop or a laptop computer, on media such aspaper.

In both FIGS. 1A and 1B, the inkjet-printing device 100 includes aninkjet-printing mechanism 102 and a detection mechanism 110. In FIG. 1A,the inkjet-printing device 100 further includes a black/specialty slot104KS and a cyan-magenta-yellow (CMY) slot 106CMY. By comparison, inFIG. 1B, the inkjet-printing device 100 includes a black slot 104K, aspecialty slot 104S, a cyan slot 106C, a magenta slot 106M, and a yellowslot 106Y. Each of the slots 104KS, 104K, 104S, 106CMY, 106C, 106M, and106Y is receptive to installation of an ink cartridge therein.

In FIG. 1A, the black/specialty slot 104KS is receptive to installationof a standard black ink cartridge 108K containing standard black ink anda specialty ink cartridge 108S containing specialty ink. However, justone of the cartridges 108K and 108S can be inserted into theblack/specialty slot 104KS at any given time. Thus, if the cartridge108K is inserted into the slot 104KS, then the cartridge 108S cannotalso be inserted into the slot 104KS at the same time, and vice-versa.The CMY slot 106 CMY is receptive to installation of a standardcyan-magenta-yellow (CMY) ink cartridge 108CMY containing cyan, magenta,and yellow ink.

In FIG. 1B, the black slot 104K is receptive to installation of thestandard black ink cartridge 108K, and the specialty slot 104S isreceptive to installation of the specialty ink cartridge 108S. The cyanslot 106C is receptive to installation of a standard cyan ink cartridge108C containing standard cyan ink, whereas the magenta slot 106M isreceptive to installation of a standard magenta ink cartridge 108Mcontaining standard magenta ink. The yellow slot 106Y is receptive toinstallation of a standard yellow ink cartridge 108Y containing standardyellow ink.

Ink is generally defined herein is matter that is an at least partiallyliquid form, and which includes dyes, pigments, and/or other colorants.Standard ink is generally considered a first type of ink, where the typeof this ink is independent of its color, such that cyan, magenta,yellow, and black inks can all be standard inks of the same type, eventhough they have different colors. Standard ink is further generallydefined herein as ink that is normally and ordinarily employed by theinkjet-printing device 100 to print images on media. Where theinkjet-printing device 100 is a photo inkjet-printing device, thestandard ink may include photo inks designed to optimally print photoson media, as opposed to regular inks designed to optimally printnon-photo graphics and text on media.

For example, standard black ink is ink that is employed by theinkjet-printing device 100 to ordinarily and normally print black imageson media. The standard cyan, magenta, and yellow inks, when used aloneor in conjunction with the standard black ink, are inks that areemployed by the inkjet-printing device 100 to ordinarily and normallyprint full-color images on media. For instance, each of a spectrum ofcolors can be realized as a combination of three values (cyan, magenta,yellow) or as a combination of four values (cyan, magenta, yellow, andblack). To print such a color on media, the standard cyan, magenta, andyellow inks, or the standard cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks, areejected in varying densities or amounts corresponding to the cyan,magenta, yellow values, or the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black values,of the color.

In general, the standard inks are such that upon being ejected ontomedia, they do not substantially or discernibly rise above the surfaceof the media upon drying. For example, with regular paper and othertypes of regular media, the standard inks are substantially absorbedinto the media itself, such that the standard inks do not substantiallyor discernibly rise above the surface of the media upon drying. Withglossy paper and other types of photo and glossy media, the standardinks may not substantially absorb into the media itself, and instead dryon the surface of the media, but the standard inks nevertheless do notsubstantially or discernibly rise above the surface of the media upondrying. This is in comparison to specialty embossing inks, for instance,which dry at least substantially above the surface of the media torealize one or more raised portions—which are also known as reliefportions—where such embossing inks have been used.

By comparison, specialty ink is generally considered a second type ofink different than the first type of ink of the standard inks. Specialtyink is further generally defined herein as ink that is not normally andordinarily employed by the inkjet-printing device 100 to print images onmedia. For instance, specialty inks can be inks that are not neededand/or are not used to print black and/or full-color images on media.Specialty inks include metallic inks, which are inks that includemetallic colorant or actual metallic flakes to render portions of themedia printed on using the metallic inks with a metallic look. Specialtyinks also include embossing inks, as have been described above, as wellas glossy inks. Glossy inks are inks that are glossier than standardinks. Where such standard inks are photo inks, the glossy inks are evenglossier than the photo inks. Portions of media printed on using theglossy inks are thus rendered glossier than portions of the mediaprinted on using the standard inks.

Specialty inks may be black in color, but are not considered standardblack ink in that they are not employed to ordinarily and normally printblack images on media. For example, a user printing text-oriented imageson media would not normally and ordinarily employ specialty black ink,but rather would use standard black ink. Likewise, a user printingphoto-oriented images on media would not normally and ordinarily employspecialty black ink, but rather would use standard (photo) black ink. Inparticular, where the standard inks also include standard cyan, magenta,and yellow inks, full-color images may not be (and in at least someembodiments, cannot be) printed on media using the specialty black inkin conjunction with these standard inks. That is—i.e., this means—toprint a given color on media, where the color is defined by four values(cyan, magenta, yellow, and black), the specialty black ink is notejected in varying densities along with the standard cyan, magenta, andyellow to realize the given color in question.

Similarly, where the specialty ink is a specialty non-black ink, thespecialty ink nevertheless may not be (and in at least some embodimentscannot be) used to print full-color images on media in conjunction withstandard inks. That is—i.e., this means to print a given color on media,where the color is defined by three values (cyan, magenta, and yellow)or four values (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black), the specialtynon-black ink cannot be ejected in varying densities along with thestandard, cyan, magenta, yellow, and/or black to realize the given colorin question. In some embodiments, the specialty ink may have a colorthat is different than cyan, magenta, or yellow, and thus is differentthan the normal and ordinary colors (i.e., cyan, magenta, and yellow)employed to realize a spectrum of colors when printing on media. It isnoted that the term color as used herein also is inclusive of the colorblack and the color white.

Referring to both FIGS. 1A and 1B, it is noted that while theinkjet-printing device 100 in these figures is depicted as having aparticular configuration and number of slots, in other embodiments,other configurations and numbers of slots may be employed. For example,in FIG. 1A there is one slot 104KS that is receptive to both thestandard black ink cartridge 108K and the specialty ink cartridge 108S,whereas in FIG. 1B there are two slots 104K and 104S corresponding tothe ink cartridges 108K and 108S, respectively. However, theseembodiments may be reversed, such that the inkjet-printing device 100 inFIG. 1A has two slots 104K and 104S, and the device 100 in FIG. 1B hasone slot 104KS. Likewise, in FIG. 1A there is one slot 106CMY receptiveto a standard CMY ink cartridge 108CMY, whereas in FIG. 1B there arethree slots 106C, 106M, and 106Y receptive to standard cyan, magenta,and yellow ink cartridges 108C, 108M, and 108, respectively. Theseembodiments may also be reversed, such that the inkjet-printing device100 in FIG. 1A has three slots 106C, 106M, and 106Y, and the device 100in FIG. 1B has one slot 106CMY.

In both FIGS. 1A and 1B, the inkjet-printing mechanism 102 includes thesoftware, hardware, and/or components so that the inkjet-printing device100 is able to print images, such as text and/or graphics, onto medialike paper and other types of media. The inkjet-printing mechanism 102may be a thermal inkjet-printing mechanism 102, a piezoelectricinkjet-printing mechanism 102, or another type of inkjet-printingmechanism 102. The inkjet-printing mechanism 102 is operable byselectively ejecting ink of different colors and/or different types ontothe media to realize the desired image.

In this respect, it is noted that in one embodiment, the ink cartridges108K, 108S, 108CMY, 108C, 108M, and 108Y may just include supplies ofink that are employed by the inkjet-printing mechanism 102 to eject inkonto media. In this embodiment, the printheads from which ink isactually ejected are separate from the ink cartridges 108K, 108S,108CMY, 108C, 108M, and 108Y, and instead are specifically part of justthe inkjet-printing mechanism 102. In another embodiment, the inkcartridges 108K, 108S, 108CMY, 108C, 108M, and 108Y may include thesupplies of ink as well as the printheads from which ink is actuallyejected. In this embodiment, the inkjet-printing mechanism 102 can besaid to at least partially overlap, or contain, the ink cartridges 108K,108S, 108CMY, 108C, 108M, and 108Y, in that both the cartridges 108K,108S, 108CMY, 108C, 108M, and 108Y and the mechanism 102 are said toinclude the printheads.

The detection mechanism 110 is implemented in hardware or a combinationof hardware and software. In FIG. 1A, the detection mechanism 110 isable to at least detect whether the standard black ink cartridge 108K orthe specialty ink cartridge 108S has been inserted into or installedwithin the black/specialty slot 104KS. In FIG. 1B, the detectionmechanism 110 is able to at least detect whether the specialty inkcartridge 108S has been inserted into or installed within the specialtyslot 104S. The detection mechanism 110 may employ mechanical,electrical, and/or optical methodologies by which to perform itsdetection capability.

For example, the specialty ink cartridge 108S may have a particular typeof marking on its enclosure, different than the other ink cartridges108K, 108CMY, 108C, 108M, and 108Y. Upon insertion of the specialty inkcartridge 108S into the slot 104KS or the slot 104S, the detectionmechanism 110 may optically detect this marking. As such, the detectionmechanism 110 detects that the specialty ink cartridge 108S has beeninserted into the slot 104KS or the slot 104S.

As another example, the specialty ink cartridge 108S may have amechanical feature, such as a tab, groove, notch, and so on, differentthan the other ink cartridges 108K, 108CMY, 108C, 108M, and 108Y. Uponinsertion of the specialty ink cartridge 108S into the slot 104KS or theslot 104S, this mechanical feature interacts with the detectionmechanism 110, such that the mechanism 110 detects that the cartridge108S has been inserted into the slot 104KS or the slot 104S. Forinstance, the mechanical feature of the specialty ink cartridge 108S maypush a corresponding mechanical feature of the detection mechanism 110that includes an electrical conductor, such that an electrical path isformed or is closed. As another example, the mechanical feature of thespecialty ink cartridge 108S may block the reception of light by a lightsensor of the detection mechanism 110 as output by a light emitter ofthe mechanism 110.

As an example of an optical methodology by which to detect the specialtyink cartridge 108S having been inserted into or installed, the cartridge108S may have human- or machine-readable markings printed thereon. Themarkings may include one or more bits of data, for instance, imprintedon the cartridge 108S. When the specialty ink cartridge 108S is insertedor installed into the inkjet-printing device 100, the detectionmechanism 110 is able to optically or otherwise detect or read thesemarkings. Thereafter, the detection mechanism 110 correlates themarkings to being those for the specialty ink cartridge 108S, such thatthe detection mechanism 110 concludes that the specialty ink cartridge108S has been installed.

As another example, the specialty ink cartridge 108S may include memoryin which one or more bits are stored that correspond to specialty inkbeing contained within the cartridge 108S. When the specialty inkcartridge 108S is inserted or installed into the inkjet-printing device,the detection mechanism 110 is able to electrically or otherwise detector retrieve these bits. Thereafter, the detection mechanism 110correlates these bits to being those for the specialty ink cartridge108S, such that the mechanism 110D concludes that the specialty inkcartridge 108S has been installed.

FIG. 2 shows a system 200, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The system 200 includes the inkjet-printing device 100 and acomputing device 202. The computing device 202 can be a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, or another type of computing device 202.For instance, the computing device 202 may be a smart phone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA) device, a digital camera, or another type ofelectronic device that has computing capability. Furthermore, just someof the software components of the computing device 202 in particular aredepicted in FIG. 2. However, those of ordinary skill within the art canappreciate that the computing device 202 includes hardware components,such as memory, processors, storage devices, and so on, and may alsoinclude other software components, in addition to and/or in lieu ofthose depicted in FIG. 2.

In general, the computing device 202 is said to include an operatingsystem 206 and an application program 204 that runs on or in conjunctionwith the operating system 206. The operating system 206 can be generallyand non-restrictively considered as the master control program of thecomputing device 202. For example, the operating system 206 sets thestandards for all the application programs, including the applicationprogram 204, that run on the computing device 202. Such applicationprograms can communicate with the operating system 206 for userinterface and file management operations.

The operating system 206 includes a driver program 208 for theinkjet-printing device 100. The driver program 208, which may also bereferred to as a device driver, encompasses one or more computerprograms that link the operating system 206 to the inkjet-printingdevice 100. The driver program 208 contains the precise computer codeand software to perform the functions requested by application programs,like the application program 204, in relation to the inkjet-printingdevice 100.

The application program 204 may be generally and non-restrictivelyconsidered as any data entry, update, query or report computer programthat processes data for the user of the computing device 202.Application programs can includes generic productivity software, such asspreadsheet programs, word processors, database programs, and so on, aswell as custom and packaged programs. The application program 204specifically generates or receives image data 210 that is to be printedon the inkjet-printing device 100 as controlled by the driver program208 of the operating system 206. The image data 210 itself may includegraphics and/or text. The image data 210 may be a digital photo, forinstance. The application program 204 can thus be a publishing program,a digital photo-processing program, or another type of a graphicsprogram, for instance.

FIG. 3 shows a method 300 for printing the image data 210 with theinkjet-printing device 100, using the specialty ink contained within thespecialty ink cartridge 108S, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The method 300 is described herein in relation to the driverprogram 208 performing most if not all of the parts of the method 300.In this respect, it can be said that the driver program 208 isimplemented as one or more computer programs stored on acomputer-readable medium, such as a recordable data storage medium.These computer programs, and hence the driver program 208 itself, istherefore said to perform most if not all of the parts of the method 300in this embodiment.

A user installs the specialty ink cartridge 108S into theinkjet-printing device 100 (302). In the embodiment of FIG. 1A, the usermay remove (i.e., uninstall) the standard black ink cartridge 108K fromthe black/specialty slot 104KS, and instead insert the specialty inkcartridge 108S in its place in the slot 104KS. The slot 104KS may havebeen originally designed to receive just the cartridge 108K, but in thisembodiment, is also being employed to receive the cartridge 108S aswell. In the embodiment of FIG. 1B, the user inserts the specialty inkcartridge 108S into the specialty slot 104S designed to receive just thecartridge 108S, as opposed to any other cartridge. Upon installation ofthe specialty ink cartridge 108S into the inkjet-printing device 100,the detection mechanism 110 detects this installation, as has beendescribed.

The remainder of the method 300 can be considered as being performed inresponse to the user installing the specialty ink cartridge 108S intothe inkjet-printing device 100 (302). For instance, the inkjet-printingdevice 100 may communicate to the driver program 208 of the operatingsystem 206 of the computing device 202 that the specialty ink cartridge108S has been installed herein. As such, the driver program 208 receivessuch communication from the inkjet-printing device 100 that thespecialty ink cartridge 108S has been installed therein.

The method 300 (e.g., the driver program 208) determines what isreferred to herein as a replacement color (306), by permitting the userto select this replacement color in at least some embodiments. Thereplacement color is a color that may be defined by a combination of ared value, a green value, and a blue value. As to the image data 210that is to be printed on media using the inkjet-printing device 100, anypixels of the image data 210 having this replacement color are insteadprinted using specialty ink from the specialty ink cartridge 108S.

For example, the replacement color may be determined as a particularshade of yellow, where the image data 210 includes one or more pixelshaving this particular shade of yellow. Normally and ordinarily, thestandard cyan, magenta, yellow, and/or black ink contained within thestandard ink cartridges 108K, 108CMY, 108C, 108M, and/or 108Y would beemployed to particularly realize this exact color—as closely aspossible—when these pixels of the image data 210 printed on media.However, in the method 300, these pixels are instead printed using thespecialty ink from the specialty ink cartridge 108S.

It is noted that the specialty ink may have no relationship orassociation with the replacement color except for the fact that thespecialty ink is used to print pixels of the image data 210 that havethis replacement color. For example, the replacement color may be aparticular shade of yellow, whereas the specialty ink may be metallicsilver ink and thus not be considered yellow ink in any way whatsoever.Nevertheless, the pixels of the image data 210 having this particularshade of yellow are printed solely in one embodiment using thisspecialty ink, instead of being printed with the standard cyan, magenta,and/or black inks to realize this particular shade of yellow as closelyas possible.

FIG. 4A shows a graphical user interface window 400 that can bedisplayed to the user by the driver program 208 for the user to selectthe replacement color, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In particular, the user is permitted to select thereplacement color in any of three different ways. First, as depicted inthe box 402, the user can select the replacement color from a palette ofpredetermined colors, where each small box, such as the box 410,represents and shows a particular predetermined color of the palette.Second, as depicted in the box 404, the user can particularly specifythe red, green, and blue values that together in combination define thereplacement color. Third, as depicted in the box 406, the user can use acolor-picking tool, which is also referred to as a color dropper tool,to select a color from an image currently being displayed by theapplication program 204. Once the user has selected the replacementcolor in any of these three ways, he or she selects the OK button 408.

FIG. 4B shows a graphical user interface window 418 that can bedisplayed to the user by the application program 204, that contains arepresentative image 420, and from which the user can use acolor-picking tool 422 provided by the driver program 208 to select thereplacement color, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In thisrespect, it is noted that the representative image 420 displayed in thewindow 418 is not displayed by the driver program 208, but rather isdisplayed by the application program 204, which is a different computerprogram that the driver program 208. However, the color-picking tool 422is provided by the driver program 208.

Within the representative image 420 displayed within the window 418,there is a person, a tree, the sun, and a bird. Each of these elementsof the image 420 is displayed in one or more different colors. Forexample, the person may have a different color for his or her skin, ascompared to his or her shirt and/or his or her shorts. The tree may havea different color for its leaves as compared to its trunk. The sun maybe one color, and the bird may be another color. As such, the colors ofthe elements of this representative image 420 may be different from oneanother, such that the colors of the person may be different than thecolors of the tree, which may be different than the color of the sun,which may be different than the color of the bird.

The user, using a pointing device such as a mouse, moves thecolor-picking tool 422 as a pointer to the desired replacement color,and then selects this color by, for instance, clicking a mouse button onthe pointing device. For instance, in the example of FIG. 4B, the userhas moved the color-picking tool 422 to point to the sun. Therefore, theuser has selected the color of the sun as the replacement color.

It is noted that the replacement color determination may be providedwith more advanced functionality than the basic functionality that hasbeen ascribed to determining the replacement color herein. For example,the replacement color may be provided with a tolerance setting. Such asetting may indicate that the range of colors that the replacement colorin question encompasses. For example, a tolerance setting of zero mayindicate that just the pixels within the image data having the exactcolor values (such as red, green, and blue color values) of thereplacement color are printed with the specialty ink. Tolerance settingsgreater than zero can specify that pixels within the image data havingcolor values that are close to the exact color values of the replacementcolor are printed with the specialty ink. As such, the tolerance settingin this respect provides a threshold against which the colors of pixelsare compared in relation to the replacement color to determine whetherthe pixels are printed with the specialty ink.

For example, a user may have selected a particular shade of yellow asthe replacement color. If the tolerance setting is zero, then just thepixels of the image data that have this exact shade of yellow areprinted with the specialty ink. If the tolerance setting is set to afirst value greater than zero, then pixels of the image data that havecolors relatively close to this shade of yellow are also printed withthe specialty ink. That is, in accordance with a prespecified comparisonof a pixel's color to the replacement color, if this prespecifiedcomparison yields a difference less than the tolerance setting (equal tothe first value), then the pixel in question is printed with thespecialty ink, even though it does not have the exact replacementcolor's color values. If the tolerance setting is set to a second valuegreater than the first value, then even more pixels of the image dataare also printed with the specialty ink. That is, in accordance with aprespecified comparison of a pixel's color to the replacement color, ifthis prespecified comparison yields a difference less than the tolerancesetting (equal to the second value, which is greater than the firstvalue), then the pixel in question is printed with the specialty ink,even though it does not have the exact replacement color's color values.

Therefore, in one embodiment, the replacement color is specificallydefined as a set of color values, such as a set of red, green, and bluecolor values, that defines exactly one color. In another embodiment,however, where the aforementioned threshold setting is greater thanzero, the replacement color is more generally defined as a specified setof color values and those sets of color values that are near thespecified set of color values. In this latter embodiment, then, thethreshold setting assists in defining how many actual sets of colorvalues are encompassed by the replacement color. In general, forinstance, the larger the value of the threshold setting, the greater thenumber of actual sets of color values that are encompassed by thereplacement color.

Referring back to FIG. 3, at some point the user selects the printcommand from the application program 204 (308), in order to print theimage data 210 using the inkjet-printing device 100. It is noted thatthe user selecting the print command is different than the userselecting a print preview command which may also be available. Forexample, selecting the print command results in the application program204 effectively transmitting the image data 210 to the driver program208 of the operating system 206, so that the driver program 208 canprocess the image data 210 and accordingly control the inkjet-printingdevice 100 to print the image data 210. By comparison, selecting theprint preview command results in the application program 204 itselfdisplaying a preview of the image data 210 as it may look when printedby the inkjet-printing device 100.

Thus, the print command cedes control from the application program 204to the driver program 208, where the image data 210 is transmitted fromthe program 204 to the program 208. By comparison, the print previewcommand does not cede control from the application program 204 to thedriver program 208. Indeed, the print preview command in at least someembodiments may not involve the driver program 208, if the applicationprogram 204 already has certain information regarding theinkjet-printing device 100 that is currently selected to print the imagedata 210. Rather, the print preview command results in the applicationprogram 204 itself displaying a preview of the image data 210, asopposed to, for instance, the driver program 208 displaying the previewof the image data 210.

FIG. 4C shows a graphical user interface element 430 of the applicationprogram 204 that may be displayed to the user and from which the usercan select the print command within the application program 204,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The graphical userinterface element 430 includes a menu bar 432, representing menus suchas a file menu 434, an edit menu, a view menu, and so on. Within themenu bar 432, the user has selected the file menu 434, which isspecifically displayed in FIG. 4C. Within the file menu 434 are menuitems such as an open menu item, a save menu item, a print menu item,and a print preview menu item. By selecting the print menu item, theuser can select the print command within the application program 204,which cedes control to the driver program 208 as has been described. Bycomparison, the user can also select the print preview command byselecting the print preview menu item, such that control is not ceded tothe driver program 208.

Referring back to FIG. 3, once the user has selected the print commandfrom the application program 204, the driver program 208 receives theimage data 210 from the application program 204 (310), and processingcontrol is ceded to the driver program 208. The driver program 208displays a print preview of the image data 210, such that pixels of theimage data 210 having the replacement color are displayed in a mannerapproximating the specialty ink within the specialty ink cartridge 108Sinstalled in part 302 (312). That is, the pixels of the image data 210that have the replacement color are not displayed with this replacementcolor, but rather are displayed differently, in a manner that shows thatthe specialty ink will be used to print the image data 210. It isfurther noted that the print preview of part 312 is displayed andperformed by the driver program 208, not the application program 204,which is a different program than the driver program 208.

FIG. 4D shows a graphical user interface window 440 that the driverprogram 208 may display as including the representative image 420 as theimage data 210, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.The graphical user window 440 thus includes the representative image420, as well as a print button 442. Those of ordinary skill within theart can appreciate that the window 440 may include other buttons, inaddition to and/or in lieu of the print button 442, as may be customary.

The representative image 420 is displayed within the window 440 suchthat the sun of the image 420 is not displayed as having the replacementcolor (i.e., its original yellow, orange, and/or red color), but ratheris displayed in a manner that approximates the specialty ink that willbe used when the image 420 is printed. This is indicated by shading ofthe sun in FIG. 4D. For example, if the specialty ink is metallic silverink, then the sun may be displayed in silver, instead of its originalyellow, orange, and/or red. Therefore, the user is able to see a previewthat approximates how the image 420 will look when it is printed onmedia by the inkjet-printing device 100 using this specialty ink.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the driver program 208 may also display theimage data 210 in other ways in relation to the pixels of the image data210 that have the replacement color that has been selected (314). Forinstance, the window 440 of FIG. 4D may have one or more additionalbuttons corresponding to these other ways in which the image data 210can be displayed. As such, the user may be permitted to select that theimage data 210 be displayed in a way other than the way it has beendisplayed in part 312, where FIG. 4D shows an example of this displayingin part 312.

As one example, the image data 210 may be displayed so that the pixelsof the image data 210 having the replacement color are displayed withthis original, replacement color, instead of in a manner approximatinghow the image data 210 will look when it is printed on media using thespecialty ink. As another example, the image data 210 may be displayedso that the pixels of the image data 210 having the replacement colorare not displayed at all, such that only the other pixels of the imagedata 210, which do not have this replacement color, are displayed. As athird example, the image data 210 may be displayed so that just thepixels of the image data 210 having the replacement color aredisplayed—either in their original replacement color or in the mannerapproximating how the image data 210 will look when it is printed usingthe specialty ink. In this last example, the other pixels of the imagedata 210, which do not have the replacement color, are not displayed.

Once the user is satisfied with how the image data 210 will look when itis printed, the user indicates to the driver program 208 that printingshould commence. For instance, the user may select the print button 442within the window 440 of FIG. 4D. Thereafter, the driver program 208causes the inkjet-printing device 100 to print the image data 210 onmedia such as paper or another type of media (316). In particular, theimage data 210 is printed such that pixels of the image data 210 thathave the replacement color are printed using the specialty ink.

For instance, ordinarily the pixels of the image data 210 that have thereplacement color are printed by accordingly ejecting drops or dropletsof standard cyan, magenta, yellow, and/or black inks to realize thereplacement color. In lieu of this, these pixels of the image data 210are instead printed with the specialty ink in question. For example, inthe representative image 420 of FIGS. 4B and 4D, the sun is not printedwith the standard cyan, magenta, yellow, and/or black inks to realizethe original red, orange, and/or yellow replacement color. Rather, thesun is printed using the specialty ink. In one embodiment, just and onlythe specialty ink is used to print such pixels of the image data 210that have the replacement color that has been selected. Thus, ratherthan using the standard inks to print the pixels having the replacementcolor, the specialty ink is instead used to print the replacement color.

It is noted that in the embodiment of FIG. 1A, the user will havereplaced the standard black ink cartridge 108K with the specialty inkcartridge 108S to print pixels of the image data 210 that have thereplacement color with the specialty ink from the cartridge 108S. Insuch instance, there is no standard black ink available for theinkjet-printing device 100 to print pixels of the image data 210 thathave colors which would ordinarily and normally be printed using suchstandard black ink, because the standard black ink cartridge 108K hasbeen uninstalled from the inkjet-printing device 100. Therefore, acomposite black color is realized to replace the standard black ink forprinting pixels that otherwise would have been printed using thestandard black ink at least in part. The composite black color can berealized, for instance, by combining the standard cyan, magenta, andyellow inks, such as in equal amounts. For example, for eight-bit color,the cyan, magenta, and yellow values of 2⁸−1=255, 255, 255 represent acomposite black color that can be employed in lieu of a black value of2⁸−1=255.

As have been described, embodiments of the present disclosure providefor advantages over the prior art. Existing application programs do nothave to be specially designed to take advantage of using specialty inkswhen printing images created within these programs. Indeed, theseapplication programs do not even have to be aware of, and may not beaware of, the fact that specialty inks will be used to print imagescreated within these programs. Rather, a user simply has to define areplacement color, and use the replacement color when creating an imagewithin an application program. Thereafter, the driver programautomatically controls the inkjet-printing device in question to printall the pixels of the image that have this replacement color with thespecialty ink instead.

Indeed, current application programs have no knowledge of specialtyinks, and therefore provide no interface to users to specify usage ofsuch specialty inks. Nevertheless, embodiments of the present disclosurepermit images generated using such application programs to still beprinted with specialty inks. This is because the driver program isprovided with a methodology by which specialty ink usage can bespecified—via the selection or determination of a replacement color. Assuch, the driver program can be said to located on top of theapplication program in a separate, independent layer providing thisspecialty ink usage functionality.

Furthermore, existing inkjet-printing devices may not have to bepurposefully designed to use the specialty inks, but may nevertheless beable to use the specialty inks when printing images. Rather than aninkjet-printing device automatically detecting insertion of a specialtyink cartridge, for instance, a user may indicate to the driver programthat a specialty ink cartridge has been inserted into the device in lieuof a standard black ink cartridge, for example. As a result, the driverprogram automatically controls this inkjet-printing device to printpixels of the image that have the replacement color that has beenselected with the specialty ink. It is noted that the driver program inthis situation is said to perform determining a replacement color andprinting the image using the specialty ink in response to the userinstalling the specialty ink cartridge—viz., where the user indicated tothe driver program that the specialty ink cartridge has been insertedinto the inkjet-printing device, instead of the device detecting suchinstallation and communicating this fact to the driver program.

Pixels of the image that would normally and ordinarily be printed usingstandard black ink—such as black and gray pixels—would instead beprinted using a composite black color, as has been described. Thus, thedriver program automatically controls the inkjet-printing device toprint such other pixels of the image that would normally and ordinarilybe printed using standard black by instead using a composite blackcolor. The inkjet-printing device does not have to be aware—and indeed,may not be aware—that the standard black ink cartridge has been replacedby a specialty ink cartridge. Because the driver program controls theejection of inks by the inkjet-printing device, the inkjet-printingdevice may believe that it is printing standard black ink when in factit is printing specialty ink.

1. A method for printing an image with an inkjet-printing devicereceptive to one or more standard ink cartridges, the standard inkcartridges containing standard cyan ink, standard magenta ink, standardyellow ink, and standard black ink that are used to print full-colorimages on media, the method comprising: in response to a user installinga specialty ink cartridge into the inkjet-printing device, where thespecialty ink cartridge contains specialty ink that is a type of inkother than types of the standard cyan ink, the standard magenta ink, thestandard yellow ink, and the standard black ink, determining areplacement color ordinarily printed using one or more of the standardcyan ink, the standard magenta ink, the standard yellow ink, and thestandard black ink from the standard ink cartridges; and, printing theimage on the media, the image having one or more pixels having thereplacement color, such that the pixels that have the replacement colorare printed using the specialty ink from the specialty ink cartridgeinstead of using the one or more of the standard cyan ink, the standardmagenta ink, the standard yellow ink, and the standard black ink fromthe standard ink cartridges.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thespecialty ink is one or more of: metallic ink, glossy ink, and embossingink, where the embossing ink dries at least substantially above asurface of the media to provide the image printed on the media with oneor more portions raised above the surface of the media where theembossing ink has been used to print the image.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the user installs the specialty ink cartridge into an inkcartridge slot of the inkjet-printing device designed for installationof the specialty ink cartridge.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein theuser installs the specialty ink cartridge into an ink cartridge slot ofthe inkjet-printing device designed for installation of one of thestandard ink cartridges.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the useruninstalls one of the standard ink cartridges from the ink cartridgeslot of the inkjet-printing device prior to installing the specialty inkcartridge into the ink cartridge slot of the inkjet-printing device. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein the ink cartridge slot of theinkjet-printing device designed for installation of one of the standardink cartridges is a black ink cartridge slot into which a standard blackink cartridge containing just the standard black ink has been previouslyinstalled, such that upon the user replacing the standard black inkcartridge with the specialty ink cartridge, the image is printed onmedia such that one or more other pixels of the image that have colorsthat are ordinarily printed using the standard black ink from thestandard black ink cartridge are instead printed using a composite blackcolor realized by combining the standard cyan ink, the standard magentaink, and the standard yellow ink.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining the replacement color comprises a user selecting thereplacement color by one or more of: the user selecting the replacementcolor from a plurality of colors within a palette displayed specificallyfor selecting the replacement color therefrom; the user defining thereplacement color by specifying a red value, a green value, and a bluevalue of the replacement color; and, the user selecting the replacementcolor using a color-picking graphical user interface element, from animage that has been displayed by an application program.
 8. The methodof claim 1, further comprising, in response to the user selecting aprint command from an application program, the print command being adifferent command than a print preview command, receiving, from theapplication program, the image having the pixels that have thereplacement color; and, displaying the image such that the pixelsthereof that have the replacement color are instead displayed in amanner approximating the specialty ink so that the user sees a previewof how the image will be printed when the pixels having the replacementcolor are printed using the specialty ink.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein receiving the image and displaying the image such that thepixels thereof having the replacement color are instead displayed in themanner approximating the specialty ink are performed by a driver programfor the inkjet-printing device, the driver program being a differentprogram than the application program.
 10. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising, in response to the user selecting the print command from theapplication program, the print command being a different command thanthe print preview command, one or more of: displaying just the pixels ofthe image that have the replacement color and not displaying any pixelof the image that does not have the replacement color; displaying justone or more pixels of the image that do not have the replacement colorand not displaying any pixel of the image that has the replacementcolor; displaying the image such that the pixels thereof that have thereplacement color are displayed as having the replacement color, insteadof being displayed in the manner approximating the specialty ink.
 11. Aninkjet-printing device comprising: a first ink cartridge slot receptiveto installation of both a first standard ink cartridge and a specialtyink cartridge, where just one of the first standard ink cartridge andthe specialty ink cartridge can be installed within the first inkcartridge slot at any given time, the first standard ink cartridgecontaining one of standard cyan ink, standard magenta ink, standardyellow ink, and standard black ink, the specialty ink cartridgecontaining specialty ink that is a type of ink other than types of thestandard cyan ink, the standard magenta ink, the standard yellow ink,and the standard black ink; one or more second ink cartridge slotsreceptive to installation of one or more second standard ink cartridges,each second standard ink cartridge containing one or more of thestandard cyan ink, the standard magenta ink, the standard yellow ink,and the standard black ink; and, an inkjet-printing mechanism to printan image on media, the image having one or more pixels of a replacementcolor ordinarily printed using one or more of the standard cyan ink, thestandard magenta ink, the standard yellow ink, and the standard blackink from the first and the second standard ink cartridges, such that thepixels having the replacement color are printed using the specialty inkfrom the specialty ink cartridge instead of using the one or more of thestandard cyan ink, the standard magenta ink, the standard yellow ink,and the standard black ink from the first and the second standard inkcartridges.
 12. The inkjet-printing device of claim 11, wherein thespecialty ink is one or more of: metallic ink, glossy ink, and embossingink, where the embossing ink dries at least substantially above asurface of the media to provide the image printed on the media with oneor more portions raised above the surface of the media where theembossing ink has been used to print the image.
 13. The inkjet-printingdevice of claim 11, wherein the first standard ink cartridge is astandard black ink cartridge containing just the standard black ink, andwherein the specialty ink cartridge is installed in the first inkcartridge slot in lieu of the standard black ink cartridge, the imagebeing printed on the media such that one or more other pixels of theimage that have colors that are ordinarily printed using the standardblack ink from the standard black ink cartridge are instead printedusing a composite black color realized by combining the standard cyanink, the standard magenta ink, and the standard yellow ink.
 14. Theinkjet-printing device of claim 14, wherein the second ink cartridgeslots are receptive to one of: a single standard ink cartridgecontaining the standard cyan ink, the standard magenta ink, and thestandard yellow ink; a standard cyan ink cartridge containing thestandard cyan ink, a standard magenta ink cartridge containing thestandard magenta ink, and a standard yellow ink cartridge containing thestandard yellow ink.
 15. The inkjet-printing device of claim 11, furthercomprising a detection mechanism to detect whether the specialty inkcartridge or the first standard ink cartridge has been installed withinthe first ink cartridge slot.
 16. A computer-readable medium having oneor more computer programs stored thereon, the computer programsimplementing a driver program for an inkjet-printing device receptive toone or more standard ink cartridges, the standard ink cartridgescontaining standard cyan ink, standard magenta ink, standard yellow ink,and standard black ink that are used to print full-color images onmedia, the computer programs to perform a method comprising: in responseto a user installing a specialty ink cartridge into the inkjet-printingdevice, where the specialty ink cartridge contains specialty ink that isa type of ink other than types of the standard cyan ink, the standardmagenta ink, the standard yellow ink, and the standard black ink,determining a replacement color ordinarily printed using one or more ofthe standard cyan ink, the standard magenta ink, the standard yellowink, and the standard black ink from the standard ink cartridges; and,causing the inkjet-printing device to print an image on the media, theimage having one or more pixels having the replacement color, such thatthe pixels that have the replacement color are printed using thespecialty ink from the specialty ink cartridge instead of using the oneor more of the standard cyan ink, the standard magenta ink, the standardyellow ink, and the standard black ink from the standard ink cartridges.17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the specialty inkis one or more of: metallic ink, glossy ink, and embossing ink, wherethe embossing ink dries at least substantially above a surface of themedia to provide the image printed on the media with one or moreportions raised above the surface of the media where the embossing inkhas been used to print the image.
 18. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 16, wherein determining the replacement color comprises permittinga user to select the replacement color by one or more of: permitting theuser to select the replacement color from a plurality of colors within apalette displayed specifically for selecting the replacement colortherefrom; permitting the user to define the replacement color byspecifying a red value, a green value, and a blue value of thereplacement color; and, permitting the user to select the replacementcolor using a color-picking graphical user interface element, from animage that has been displayed by an application program, wherein thedriver program is a different program than the application program. 19.The computer-readable medium of claim 16, the method further comprising,in response to the user selecting a print command from an applicationprogram, the print command being a different command than a printpreview command, receiving, from the application program, the imagehaving the pixels that have the replacement color; and, displaying theimage such that the pixels thereof that have the replacement color areinstead displayed in a manner approximating the specialty ink so thatthe user sees a preview of how the image will be printed when the pixelshaving the replacement color are printed using the specialty ink,wherein the driver program is a different program than the applicationprogram.
 20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, furthercomprising, in response to the user selecting the print command from theapplication program, the print command being a different command thanthe print preview command, one or more of: displaying just the pixels ofthe image that have the replacement color and not displaying any pixelof the image that does not have the replacement color; displaying justone or more pixels of the image that do not have the replacement colorand not displaying any pixel of the image that has the replacementcolor; displaying the image such that the pixels thereof that have thereplacement color are displayed as having the replacement color, insteadof being displayed in the manner approximating the specialty ink.